Governing Psychologists in Texas
Texas is home to over 28 million people, and it’s a great state to work as a licensed psychologist. In fact, it’s one of the top states for psychological employment with 116,000 community and social workers employed in the state.
The Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (TSBOE) regulates psychologists in the state. In order to be licensed as a texas psychologist, you need to obtain a doctorate, pass the EPPP, and complete a formal internship.
You also need to have at least 3,000 hours of post-graduate supervised experience and pay the appropriate fees before you can become a fully licensed psychologist in the state of Texas. This experience must be in a professional setting such as an academic, community, or private practice.
What Are the Laws and Regulations Governing Psychologists in Texas?
There are several different routes to becoming a fully licensed psychologist in the state ofTexas. The first route is to earn a doctoral degree in psychology. This requires a minimum of 60 credit hours, 12 of which must be in a supervised internship.
In addition, you need to submit a detailed application, which asks for proof of your graduate education, your supervised experience, and your exams. If you want to become a fully licensed psychologist, you should also make sure that your internship experience is accepted by the Texas Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
The second route to becoming a licensed psychologist is to apply as a psychological associate, which requires only a master’s degree and six semester credit hours of supervised training. You must also pass the EPPP and the Jurisprudence Exam.
A third route to becoming a licensed psychologist is to earn a certificate of completion in an advanced degree program, such as a clinical doctorate. This is the most time-consuming and expensive path to become a psychologist in the state of Texas, but it can be very lucrative if you are willing to invest in your education.
Continuing education is required every year for licensure renewal in the state of Texas. During the renewal period, you must earn 40 CE credits. These credits must be a combination of live and in-person courses, including at least 6 hours in ethics, the Council’s rules, or professional responsibility and another 6 or more in cultural diversity.
If you don’t meet the continuing education requirements by July 31, you can request a hardship extension, which will allow you to renew your license until August 31 of that same year. You can do this online or by mail, and the cost is $424.
The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) administratively houses the four licensing boards that regulate LPCs, LMFTs, Social Workers, and Psychologists in the state of Texas. The BHEC is made up of one professional member and one public member from each of the four licensing boards. The Chairperson of the BHEC is appointed by the Governor. The BHEC is responsible for processing license applications, licensing upgrades, and managing complaints.